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Drivers don't take a blind bit of notice (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Drivers don't take a blind bit of notice
7:00am Sunday 19th October 2008
A GROUP of Bournemouth residents is calling for a pedestrian crossing or traffic calming measures to be installed on a busy road after a series of accidents and near misses.
More than 100 people have signed a petition to Bournemouth council organised by retired marketing executive Alan Homer and his 71-year-old wife Jean, who is registered blind.
The couple live in a flat on the north side of West Cliff Road, Westbourne, but Mrs Homer has to cross the road for her favourite walks to the seafront.
Mr Homer, 73, said: “It’s so hard for people to cross the road.
“There are no lights and no controlled crossings.
“If you stand there waving a white stick with a white handkerchief on the end, motorists don’t even slow down.
“You can get 12 to 15 cars going by and they practically take it out of your hand.
“It means you’re quite marooned.”
He added that traffic tended to be heavy, especially during the rush hour and when other main routes between Poole and Bournemouth were congested.
“There have been two accidents in the last week.
“A car crashed into a stationary car and another car turned over next to St Ambrose Church,” he said.
Mr Homer said cars parked along the road and the speed of the through traffic also made it difficult for residents to exit their drives safely.
“In the summer there are more cars parked along the road and more people crossing it.
“It’s all very well having the police out there occasionally, but that’s not enough.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult to slow traffic down.
“We pay £1.5 million in council tax in this area.
“What are we paying for, if not safety?”
Area representative Cllr John Beasley promised to bring up the matter at the next meeting between ward councillors and police in a couple of weeks’ time.
“What we’re trying to do as a council is take a far more comprehensive approach to the road over a range of issues.
“Each block of flats has come forward with its own ideas and it has been piecemeal,” he said.
“There will be some serious highway issues to consider.
“Ward councillors fought very hard to get the road resurfaced, but that has speeded traffic up.”
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Your Say YourEcho
Chriswood, Westbourne says...
10:18am Sun 19 Oct 08
Tango Charlie wrote:Totally agree, the sooner the 20mph limit is brought in throughout the town, the better.
Well I never, a busy road in Bournemouth. Quite unbelievable! AND it gets even busier at rush hour! I am shocked. I am a taxpayer blah, blah…. Why can’t the council blah, blah (Yawn). We, who pay their wage blah, blah…. (Big yawn). Sorry, I’m being facetious. But tell me one through road in the Bournemouth / Poole area where this does not happen.
Laurie Marsh, brisbane says...
11:19am Sun 19 Oct 08
Linguist, Bournemouth says...
12:25pm Sun 19 Oct 08
pachyderm, says...
4:33pm Sun 19 Oct 08
"In the summer there are more cars parked along the road and more people crossing it. "
Well ,you don't need a PhD to come up with these statements !
"..the speed of the through traffic also made it difficult for residents to exit their drives safely."
They shouldn't exit their drives, it only adds to the trafic volume !
All Seeing Eye, Poole says...
8:00pm Sun 19 Oct 08
Chriswood wrote:You can put any speed limit on any road and it will not matter! There is ANARCHY ON OUR ROADS. I have seen many male and females young and old all flouting the limits and driving like crazy lunatics. Several times today I have had to take evasive action due to another driver’s speed and cornering. I really do believe that in a lot of cases these drivers have their hormones raised and believe they are too good a driver to be killed or kill or maimed by their selfish actions.
Tango Charlie wrote: Well I never, a busy road in Bournemouth. Quite unbelievable! AND it gets even busier at rush hour! I am shocked. I am a taxpayer blah, blah…. Why can’t the council blah, blah (Yawn). We, who pay their wage blah, blah…. (Big yawn). Sorry, I’m being facetious. But tell me one through road in the Bournemouth / Poole area where this does not happen.Totally agree, the sooner the 20mph limit is brought in throughout the town, the better.
It will get no better until we have more TRAFFIC POLICE.
john_the_idiot, christchurch says...
9:06am Mon 20 Oct 08
All this person want's is a crossing, simple isn't it.
But hey, not as much fun as taking the P out of a blind person is it????
You should hang your heads in shame.
PokesdownMark, Bournemouth says...
10:43am Mon 20 Oct 08
The road could maybe just use a few more central islands?
Chriswood, Westbourne says...
12:09pm Mon 20 Oct 08
PokesdownMark wrote:Probably not, as it is not in convoy style at 30.
I think this road might be harder to cross if a 20mph limit was brought in. You'd get long lines of vehicles driving much closer together - convoy style. The road could maybe just use a few more central islands?
I'd agree with idea of more central refuges.
Tango Charlie, Bournemouth says...
1:02pm Mon 20 Oct 08
john_the_idiot wrote:Hey John.
Once again many of the above choose to have a dig, cant wait until you lot are old and unable to cross your roads, bunch of moron's, the lot of you. All this person want's is a crossing, simple isn't it. But hey, not as much fun as taking the P out of a blind person is it???? You should hang your heads in shame.
I’ve read all the comments again and can’t find one that takes the P out of disabled people.
As far as I can see all of them repeat my rather sarcastic comments that this is not the only road with this problem. They are hard for all to cross. Kids, elderly, and disabled.
Not just there, but everywhere.
This case in point. Where would you build a crossing here to be fair to all the elderly residents along this rather long road? Every 20 yards?
Then a crossing every 20 yards or all the other roads to be fair to all the residents in every other road in Bournemouth and Poole?
Many pedestrians do not use those that are there anyway. Count how many you see that cross a road 10 yards from a Pelican Crossing. (Even old ladies with trolleys).
It gets me so riled. I teach my kids to walk to a crossing, when people who should know better can not be bothered.
To me, the only sensible solution got laughed off the drawing board. Remember when the Echo printed a councillors’ suggestion that some roads get turned into a gyratory system to ease traffic flow? How much easier would it be just to look one way?
Rant over.
pachyderm, says...
4:24pm Mon 20 Oct 08
john_the_idiot wrote:"“If you stand there waving a white stick with a white handkerchief on the end, motorists don’t even slow down. "
Once again many of the above choose to have a dig, cant wait until you lot are old and unable to cross your roads, bunch of moron's, the lot of you. All this person want's is a crossing, simple isn't it. But hey, not as much fun as taking the P out of a blind person is it???? You should hang your heads in shame.
Could this be a flag of surrender, under the Geneva Convention ?
Or am I just having a dig ?
john_the_idiot, christchurch says...
4:54pm Mon 20 Oct 08
pachyderm wrote:*Passes spade.
john_the_idiot wrote: Once again many of the above choose to have a dig, cant wait until you lot are old and unable to cross your roads, bunch of moron's, the lot of you. All this person want's is a crossing, simple isn't it. But hey, not as much fun as taking the P out of a blind person is it???? You should hang your heads in shame."“If you stand there waving a white stick with a white handkerchief on the end, motorists don’t even slow down. " Could this be a flag of surrender, under the Geneva Convention ? Or am I just having a dig ?
yourbard, Westbourne says...
6:06am Tue 21 Oct 08
There are quite a few who live on the West Cliff who have to cross West Cliff Road on their way to St. Michael's School.
Without any crossing places, is it any wonder that most get driven to school?
At a meeting last year it was implied that a fatality was required before a crossing would be considered.
I hope we don't have to lose anyone's child in the name of progress.
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Tango Charlie, Bournemouth says...
8:12am Sun 19 Oct 08
Quite unbelievable!
AND it gets even busier at rush hour!
I am shocked.
I am a taxpayer blah, blah…. Why can’t the council blah, blah (Yawn).
We, who pay their wage blah, blah…. (Big yawn).
Sorry, I’m being facetious.
But tell me one through road in the Bournemouth / Poole area where this does not happen.